Non-VegetarianSiciliana cuisine Street Food

Pani câ Meusa

Name: Pani câ Meusa
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Siciliana
Ingredients: 300 g veal spleen; 200 g veal lung; 100 g Lard; 4 pieces sesame bread rolls; 120 g fresh sheep milk ricotta; 40 g caciocavallo cheese; 1 piece Lemon; 10 g Fine sea salt; 2 g Black pepper

A classic Palermo street food sandwich of tender, thinly sliced simmered spleen and lung, warmed in hot lard and tucked into a soft sesame roll.

🇮🇹Italy· Sicily

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 60 min
Total: 80 min
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Medium
Calories: 540 kcal

Ingredients

0 of 9 gathered

Servings

300 g veal spleen — cleaned and trimmed
200 g veal lung — cleaned and rinsed
100 g Lard — strutto, traditional for frying
4 pieces sesame bread rolls — soft vastedda or mafalda rolls
120 g fresh sheep milk ricotta — drained, for the maritatu style
40 g caciocavallo cheese — shaved or coarsely grated
1 piece Lemon — cut into wedges, for the schettu style
10 g Fine sea salt — for the boiling water and seasoning
2 g Black pepper — freshly ground

Equipment

•Large stockpot
•Wide skillet or shallow frying pan
•Sharp chef knife
•Slotted spoon
•Tongs

Nutrition

Per serving, approximate

Calories: 540 kcal
fat: 26 g
carbs: 44 g
fibre: 2 g
protein: 32 g
calories: 540 kcal

Instructions

1
Place the spleen and lung in a large pot of cold, salted water.
2
Bring the water to a gentle boil over medium heat, skimming any foam from the surface.
3
Simmer the meats gently for forty minutes until tender throughout, then remove and cool completely.
4
Slice the cooled meats into very thin, bite-sized strips using a sharp knife.
5
Melt the lard in a wide skillet over medium-low heat until completely liquefied and hot.
6
Add the sliced meats to the hot lard in batches and warm through gently for two minutes without browning.
7
Slice the sesame rolls horizontally, leaving one side hinged if preferred.
8
Lift the warm meat with tongs, draining excess lard lightly, and pack it generously into the rolls.
9
For schettu style, squeeze fresh lemon juice directly over the meat with a pinch of salt.
10
For maritatu style, top the hot meat immediately with fresh ricotta and shaved caciocavallo cheese.
11
Close the rolls gently and serve immediately while hot.

Chef's tips

Boil the offal well in advance and chill it thoroughly in the fridge before slicing, as cold meat is far easier to cut into thin ribbons. Do not crisp or brown the meat in the lard; the goal is simply to heat and enrich the tender slices.

Ingredient substitutions

veal lung → an equal weight of extra veal spleen if lung is unavailable
caciocavallo cheese → young salted caciotta or mild provolone
fresh sheep milk ricotta → fresh cow milk ricotta

Storage

Store leftover boiled, unsliced meat in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.

Reheating

Reheat sliced meat gently in a little melted lard over low heat just until hot before filling fresh rolls.

Common mistakes to avoid

•Frying the meat at too high a temperature, which makes the delicate offal tough and dry rather than soft.
•Slicing the boiled offal too thickly, which makes the sandwich chewy.
•Skipping the initial long gentle boil, which is essential to achieve tender meat.